


Something’s Fishy

by morganofthewildfire



Category: Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: F/M, Fluff, aquamarine au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 22:13:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29891304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morganofthewildfire/pseuds/morganofthewildfire
Summary: Just a little aquamarine au Drabble! I thought of this idea and I immediately needed to write it. Inspired by a certain scene from the movie!
Relationships: Aelin Ashryver Galathynius | Celaena Sardothien & Rowan Whitethorn, Aelin Ashryver Galathynius | Celaena Sardothien/Rowan Whitethorn
Comments: 1
Kudos: 16





	Something’s Fishy

The storm that rushed through the small town of Doranelle that day was one of the worst they’d seen in a while. So of course it had to happen the few days that Rowan was left alone.

His Aunt Maeve had left town to go to a distant family member’s wedding, and left him in charge of the beachside community center she owned while she was gone. 

He hadn’t always lived with her, but he’d moved in with her when his parents died five years ago, and he was stuck with her for the next year until he graduated and went off to college. Stuck being the key adjective.

She was awful, truly heinous and bitchy, which was why Rowan was so stressed about the storm. It had ripped across the state, coming straight in from the ocean and pouring rain and rough winds through it all. And of course, being right on the beach, Maeve’s Beach Club had gotten hit with the brunt of it.

It had raged all throughout the day so he hadn’t gotten a chance to look at the damage, but he could tell the buildings were roughed up and the large beachside pool was practically  _ full _ of leaves and debris, costing the whole surface and making it impossible to see into.

And now, the sky falling dark naturally this time, Rowan tried to put it out of his mind as he forced himself into bed. He’d get his friends to help him clean it all up, hopefully before Maeve got home. It would be fine, right?

But it was decidedly  _ not  _ fine when, probably around two am or so, a large splash made his eyes shoot open in panic. It wasn’t like the monotonous noise of the waves crashing, so it must have been coming from the pool.

_ Shit.  _ If someone had managed to break in, or if something was break _ ing _ , he’d be even more dead than he already was. Even if none of it was really his fault.

Rowan cursed again and stood up from his bed, rubbing a hand over his eyes and clambering out of his room to the back door. Their house was only a little ways away from the pool, near enough to keep an eye on it but far enough away not to be a distraction. After brief consideration, he threw on some flip flops and grabbed a flashlight, making his way cautiously outside.

But a quick scan revealed nothing but the empty pool deck, the empty walkway to the beach, the empty snack shop, the empty everything. There was no one there.

He sighed and almost went back in when another splash sounded, making him whip around and shine the light on the pool to try and catch it.

And what he saw made him almost drop the light out of shock. Because in the pool, leaning against the edge looking at him, was a girl. A  _ beautiful  _ girl. Her hair was golden, shining brightly despite it being soaked and matted to her skin. And her eyes, her  _ eyes.  _ They were an alluring blue green color, ringed with more gold, and looking like she could stare into his soul and read everything about him like she was reading a newspaper. She looked to be about his age, but he really couldn’t tell. There was something about her that made it hard to gauge.

Rowan gaped as she leaned onto her elbows, glancing up at him curiously from her spot in the water. From her position, and the mess in the pool, he could only see her from her shoulders up, which was a blessing because from the way her hair parted slightly, he didn’t think she was wearing anything.

Heat flooded his cheeks in embarrassment and he looked away slightly. “You uh - you can’t be in here,” he managed to stutter, daring a glance back. But the girl just smiled, setting her chin on her hands as she watched him fumble.

“Why not?” She said, “there was nothing to say I couldn’t be.” Her eyebrows rose teasingly. That was probably true, the sign likely blew away in the storm, so there wasn’t anything explicitly stopping her, even if she didn’t have a reason for being in his pool in the middle of the night, seemingly naked. He searched for something to say, opening and closing his mouth, but she beat him to it. “This pool just looked so lovely you know? I thought it could use a friend.” She shrugged and swam backward, and he immediately looked away, only deeming it safe when he determined her hair covered anything too scandalous. “What’s your name?” She asked, tilting her head. “I’m Aelin.”

Rowan didn’t respond, instead just standing there like a statue before steeling himself and repeating “you can’t be here.”

The girl, Aelin, rolled her eyes and scowled slightly, but then smirked and said “fine”. She swam toward the steps on the side, moving almost too fluidly in the water. And as she braced herself on the wall, pushing herself up and revealing more and more of her skin, Rowan realized his mistake.

“Wait!” He yelled as loudly as he dared, and she sunk back into the water, grinning at him as his cheeks flushed again. He didn’t need to see any of … that.

“What’s wrong, -?” she trailed off, clearly waiting for him to fill in his name.

“Rowan,” he muttered, looking down at the deck instead of at her. He just wanted this day to never have happened, for the storm damage to disappear and for this  _ person  _ to leave him alone.

“Well,  _ Rowan _ ,” she crooned, smiling at him innocently in contrast, “what’s wrong? Are you squeamish or something?”

He scowled and kept looking away, fighting the urge to fidget. She wasn’t wrong. The farthest he’d ever gotten with a girl was kissing, nothing close to where he’d really see what one looked like without any clothes. And he didn’t exactly want that first time to be right now.

“That’s a pretty name, though,” Aelin continued, ignoring his lack of response, “Rowan. Very fitting I’d say, with your green eyes.” She smiled again, and he hated to admit that it was a gorgeous smile. Fitting, given the rest of her appearance.

“What are you even doing?” He asked, “it’s the middle of the night.” She leaned back into the water, sinking down until just her head and her hair were above the surface.

“Oh you know,” she shrugged, “storms and waves and wind and all that. Takes you places.”

Rowan narrowed his eyes, not sure what she was even saying.

“Well why this place?” He pressed, suddenly annoyed. “Where are your parents anyway?”

Her teasing expression suddenly darkened, a strange look taking over her face. “That’s not important.” She said morosely, but then she put her mask back on, smiling at him again. “Where are  _ your _ parents? Why is it you playing cop in, like you say, the middle of the night?”

His stomach dropped. “Dead.” He didn’t know why he said it, didn’t know why he admitted it, didn’t know what it was about her that made him open up. But the way her eyes filled with understanding and compassion kept him from regretting his decision.

“I guess we have that in common then, Rowan.” She looked at him inquisitively. “Should we find out what else we have in common? I’m very good at guessing games.” Her smile turned a little silkier, and his stomach turned into knots.

“Maybe another time,” he said stiffly, “right now you really need to leave. I could get in huge trouble.”

“By who? I thought you said your parents were gone?” He briefly noted the use of the word gone instead of dead but brushed over it, too worried about the current situation. He didn’t know who this girl was, or where she came from, or what she was doing, even though he felt a faint flicker of concern for her, but she needed to go back home before Aunt Maeve or someone else found out.

“That’s not important.” Rowan used her words, and she chuckled slightly in recognition before sighing and rolling her eyes.

“Fine,” she conceded, “I’ll leave your precious pool alone.”

He muttered a thank you to the gods and went into the nearby shed to grab her a towel, hearing faint sounds of splashing, and on his way back he looked cautiously, hoping she was waiting for him before getting out.

Unfortunately, she hadn’t, but her hair was once again covering her chest as she sat on the edge of the pool, but his heart froze in shock at the rest of the scene.

Because instead of legs, she had … she had … had  _ scales _ shaping into what was unmistakably a mermaid tail. Rowan managed to lose grip of the towel, and it fell to the ground as he gaped yet again.

Aelin just raised a brow, lifting the tail and sliding it through the water. “What? You don’t like fish?”


End file.
